I’ve done marathons before—White Rock in Dallas, Boston, Cincinnati Flying Pig and now Boise’s City of Trees. It is almost a parallel to our life journey across the United States. There are moments and memories that really stick out. I’ll not ever forget the last 2 miles of Dallas as it was so brutal with the rain, cold and blisters. I won’t forget the exhilaration and feeling of accomplishment at the end of Boston which was the best moment of my life. The fun in training with a team for Cincinnati will always be remembered. The Boise City of Trees is like a combination of all of those. It had the absolute fun factor with all the planning and training with Annelise. It had the absolute pain of Dallas in those last 2 miles. And it had the incredible feeling of accomplishment of Boston since it has been 12 years since my last marathon.

My favorite part has been the memories with Annelise, all the little things. Laughing over my Disney tunes that I listen to. The people we see all the time that we've nicknamed on the greenbelt—Calvin (think underwear [showing on a guy] that we see each time), Tai Chi Man (get a life), Jalapeno Boxer Boys (can their shorts be shorter?). And the TALKING that we've done. We've talked about EVERYTHING—even the stories about chafing, blackened and missing toenails, bodily movements and blisters. Those are all major conversations on those long 18-20 mile runs! All you runners out there can sympathize.

We've been able to share so much over these past few months. We've packed a suitcase of memories that we can visit over and over again by looking over our journey in the collage of pictures. It certainly wasn’t easy. I certainly don’t want to run another marathon. But I will always cherish the time I spent with my daughter—my friend.

How nice that your mom shared her perspective with us. Think she's just a bit crazy about you, Aunie? I love every minute I get to spend with my daughters 27 and 37. They make me laugh, raise me up, keep me grounded and light up my world. There's NOTHING like the mother/daughter friendship bond.